State At A Glance

August 11, 2007

BRISTOL -- Convicted child molester Casmir Kulesa, 50, of Bristol received a 17-year prison sentence, suspended after six years, on Friday and heard in devastating detail how he had scarred his victims. Several courtroom spectators cried and two relatives of the girls trembled as a victim's advocate read aloud the letter written by a woman Kulesa sexually assaulted about five years ago. ``I want you to feel you are a worthless piece of trash. You deserve to feel what I felt, only 10 times worse,'' wrote the woman, now in her early 20s.

HARTFORD -- Racism still plays a major role in schools and in the media, according to research conducted by Hartford teenagers this summer. That conclusion, presented Friday, is based on interviews and 133 surveys administered by a group of 30 area youths, age 14 to 18, to their peers. Ninety percent of respondents said racism still exists.

NEW BRITAIN -- Drug charges against a former chief judicial marshal were dropped Friday, months after the state Supreme Court upheld a 2005 lower court ruling that the search warrant used in the case was signed by a judge who could not have been impartial. Senior Assistant State's Attorney Kathleen McNamara said the state had no admissible evidence to proceed against Eric Edman, 38, who was arrested in 2001 on drug sale and possession charges.

SIMSBURY -- An 18-year-old Windsor resident was charged with attempted assault after he allegedly fired BB gun pellets that smashed a window in a car passing by a house on West Mountain Road Thursday night, according to police. Alexander Brett Sponzo appeared in Superior Court in Enfield Friday and was released on a $10,000 non-cash bond. No one was hurt in the incident, but the car's driver-side window was shattered.

WESTBROOK -- Art Carney may have played TV sidekick Ed Norton on ``The Honeymooners,'' but in town he always was the No. 1 star. Carney, who died in 2003, lived in Westbrook for nearly a half-century. He was, by all accounts, Westbrook's most famous resident ever -- and a friendly neighbor, too. Next weekend, the town will hold a special tribute to Carney at the Westbrook High School auditorium, complete with several film presentations and remembrances of the late actor.

WILLINGTON -- Phase one of the Willington Woods senior housing facility is nearly complete. Residents are expected to be able to move in as early as October. The first phase -- a two-story building containing 32 units of senior-only housing -- is part of the overall plan to build a senior community, including cottages and a new senior center.

WINDSOR LOCKS -- U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Barry Albert was leading a convoy in Iraq on May 14 when his tank was hit by an explosive device, injuring his left leg. Albert ignored the injury and led his convoy out of danger. Doctors would later amputate the leg. Now, local veterans say, it is time to worry about Albert. He is scheduled to return home in December. That gives volunteers four months to make the family's home handicapped-accessible.